Drama

Barker Goes Broadway

I have been recalling the essence of the play now more than ever. That being, change.

Barker Goes Broadway is an annual concert in which students perform some of their favourite musical theatre pieces. This year was slightly different as we were all in lockdown and were learning online. The students were challenged to edit together a video in which they lip-synched to their favourite Broadway song. We received several creative entries from Year 9 - 12 students including whole Drama classes performing songs. Students showed great innovation in their choreography and created fabulous costumes for these performances. My friends and I wanted to be part of this Barker event, so we put together a video of the song ‘Six’ from the hit musical Six. This musical is from the perspectives of the six wives of King Henry VIII. The song Six is their final number, where they sing about their preferred ending to each of their stories. It is a song about coming together with your friends, finding joy in life and making music. We got very creative with the costumes and tried to make them as close as possible to the official production’s look, using just what we had at home. Charlie J was our choreographer and gave us a great, cohesive look for our performance. I found it was an uplifting experience to take part in with my friends in lockdown, as it was a creative outlet for us and we were able to just dance and have fun with this great song.

Emily Whiting Year 11 Having the privilege of editing together the show allowed me to really feel as if I was helping to get Barker Drama back into the spotlight. It was really inspiring seeing classes from all year groups getting creative with the task at hand and seeing several students outside of the Drama program getting involved was super exciting. These submissions along with a throwback to 2020’s Cancelled: The Musical culminated in a full hour of musical content from Barker alone, led excellently by the 2020 Drama Captains, Bailey and Jess. It was awesome to see the Barker community come together to watch Barker Goes Broadway and allow the younger years to get a taste of the performance experience that they have been missing. The Drama program is all about connections with peers and being able to absorb and celebrate the talent across the School, and it was so tough not being able to have that performance experience for all students across the program, but especially our Year 12 2021 cohort who lost their group performances which are always a highlight of Year 12 Drama. Fortunately, Barker Goes Broadway showed the drive and resilience of the entire Drama department, and although we could not congratulate each other on the night, it was clear as the show went on, that Barker Drama hadn’t gone anywhere during lockdown. We can’t wait to see that same passion in force and in person in 2022!

Ben James Year 11

Every Brilliant Thing… about Drama Online

There is a beautifully personal play written by Duncan Macmillan called Every Brilliant Thing and a few years ago we had the opportunity to take a keen bunch of Barker Theatre Club students to see it at Belvoir Street Theatre.

It is a one-person play centred around a boy who creates a list of everything that is brilliant in the world as a coping mechanism for his difficult life. He learns this list off by heart; repeating it and adding to it every time he thinks of something new. In these uncertain times it seems like a good idea to have a steady list of positive things that keeps growing and at the top of my list would be the people I work with. The Barker Drama Department really shone in the toughest of times transforming a world of practical, collaborative, physical learning into a meaningful one online. Here are a few of our Year 10s reflecting on their time. The important skill of communicating became harder online and through that I learnt to be patient and to accept other people’s ideas more readily. The best part about online Drama was the voice acting workshop. It opened our eyes to the world of voice performance, especially in cartoons. We learnt critical skills such as vocal warmups, how to create dynamic, unique characters that engage audiences. The best part of my day was looking at my calendar and seeing Drama, even on a Friday afternoon. My teacher had a way of always making it engaging and fun to be a part of.

Jamison Cameron Year 10

I think the best part of Drama online was getting an insight into people’s lives, seeing them in a more casual setting, we met many pets and siblings. It wasn’t easy when there was no instant feedback from an audience as they often hid behind their screens, but my teacher did an excellent job at balancing work and games to ensure fun lessons. Drama was certainly my favourite subject to attend online because of her, so Thank You! The best part of Drama online was working collaboratively with my peers to create a very interesting, funny mockumentary. One of the recent highlights was a voice workshop. It was very engaging and amusing to create a new character and make a voice for it. While being online, I definitely missed playing drama games and interacting with actual people instead of their School photos. Overall, Drama online was the one subject I looked forward to, it brightened up my day and made my week a whole lot better.

Isabella Onsley Year 10

The best part of Drama online was being connected with people. It was the one class where everyone turned their cameras on and participated for the whole lesson. It was a great space to stay connected and added joy to the day. Online learning was quite challenging at times, and if there is one thing I could say to the Drama staff it is thank you for all of the hard work put into lessons; making them engaging and always making sure that everyone felt included.

Max Bowles Year 10

And now, that we are back – we can start our own list of Every Brilliant Thing…together

Pia Midgley Head of Drama

Nick Strachov Year 10

Year 9 Play

The show must ALWAYS go on!!! Theatre has been around for centuries…and it will take more than a global pandemic to end it - that is what history tells us.

During 1592 and 1593 William Shakespeare and much of England, endured lockdowns, and a loss of work due to the Bubonic plague and yet he wrote some of his best work during this time and his theatre company survived to go on to greater recognition. Throughout the Blitz in WWII London theatres were closed and the West End was quiet, yet each week secret concerts were held in the National Portrait Gallery to “boost morale”. Even when the bombing was at its most intense, the shows didn’t stop, they merely moved into basement rooms to keep everyone safe. In the heartbreaking year of 9/11 Broadway theatres were only dark for a few days, yet audiences were very slow to return. But now New York has struggled to its feet again, creating musicals such as "Come from Away” helping to show and celebrate the human spirit enduring against adversity. So how could we deny our Year 9 Drama students the opportunity to perform, to tell stories and to entertain because of COVID-19? The answer is of course, we couldn’t and although it has been an uphill battle to bring the Year 9 Performance Evening to the stage - we did it! Born of an idea when stuck online teaching Drama in Term 3, the Year 9 Performance Evening was an opportunity for our students to think, breathe and feel what it is to be on a stage - as another character, in front of an audience. And for those that know - there is nothing in the world that can mirror the incredible sense of achievement, pride and strength that comes with stepping out on a stage, in full costume, under lights to perform for a living and breathing live audience. Nothing in the world! We were so incredibly proud of the Year 9 Drama students - not only for their resilience and positivity during online learning but also, and perhaps more importantly, for their willingness to just have a go on stage. Such an important step on their theatrical journey through Barker Drama. Vive le théâtre!!

Pia Midgley and Simon Thompson Directors

The Apprentice

This term Year 10 Commerce students participated in a new initiative; The Apprentice. Run by the Commercial Studies department, this program sought to replicate the demands of working in the corporate sector.

Students were tasked with creating policy advice for the Federal government in response to one of the following issues; housing affordability, national reconciliation, gender discrimination, climate change and income disparity in Australia. This required students to undertake research into the issue they selected to gain an understanding of the scope and complexity which must be overcome to resolve each matter. Once the research phase was completed a specific policy response was developed from the perspective of advising the Federal government on how to redress the problem. Students were fortunate to be collaborating with, and mentored by, professional Economists working for EY Sydney. EY works as a consultancy firm who advise a range of public and private sector clients on managing economic impacts of various social and market changes. Students were able to gain insight into how economists approach their work and gain feedback on their devised solutions. This aspect was essential to the program as staff sought to immerse students in the world beyond the Mint Gates. Having been placed into groups not based on friendship or classwork, students were required to adapt quickly to the pressures of collaborating with individuals not well known to them. This was again motivated by the realities of the professional working environment. Students participated in a team-building activity and special presentation designed to equip students with key strategies for managing collaborative team environments.

Andrew Watts Commercial Studies Teacher

Aleisha Ford Commercial Studies Teacher

Mental Health and Wellbeing

The word “thrive” means much more than simply to survive. It conveys the notion of seizing all we have to prosper and flourish. Of holding our intellectual and spiritual self in a harmonious whole.

SKILLED WORKPLACE GOLD

At Barker we have determined this as our purpose to inspire everyone in our community to thrive. Over the last three years we have developed a sustainable approach to staff wellbeing through the lens of psychological safety, understanding it is essential the work environment is conducive to strong physical health, robust mental health, good spiritual health and supportive for all our staff. A strategic review of the School’s Psychological Safety in 2018 – 2019 highlighted that staff at Barker are strongly aligned to the School’s Mission, Vision and Values and are passionate about contributing to the success of the School. The findings led to initiatives in leadership development, a focus on embedding a culture of continuous feedback and a priority area of staff wellbeing within the School’s Strategic Plan. Raising mental health awareness, decreasing the stigma of mental illness, and providing a framework for which to initiate a conversation is a significant component of a healthy workplace. In 2019, we launched our whole School approach to raising mental health awareness through a Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Strategy. Mental Health First Aid is a global innovative program that was inspired by the successful physical first aid model. With accredited MHFA Instructors on staff, we facilitate training for our Support Staff in the Standard (adult) program and staff in key pastoral positions participate in the Youth program. We now have over 36% of our staff accredited. This year also saw the expansion of the program to our families. In recognition of our commitment to continuous improvement in mental health training and dedication to embed this program into our culture, Barker has been officially recognised as a Mental Health First Aid Gold Skilled Workplace 2021 - 2023. We look forward to incorporating the Teen MHFA program into future strategy, where our secondary students are educated to identify when their peers need support and how to seek the help of a trusted adult. We aim to ensure that all Barker students and staff are supported to develop and maintain positive mental health as we seek to continue to establish practices that are conducive to the ongoing promotion of a culture of positive wellbeing, capturing the essence of what it means to truly thrive at Barker.

Alison Binet Deputy Head People & Culture